Viktor shook his head.
"I don't remember seeing it happen again, not after I turned ten."
Gavril looked toward Kaavi.
"And you don't know why?"
"No."
Viktor looked somewhat disappointed by the answer.
Gavril didn't press him. He seemed to understand that Viktor was already telling everything he knew.
Veyl leaned slightly closer to the fire.
"Then how did you know to use the ring tonight?"
Viktor stared at the flames.
"I don't know. I just remembered. The words came back when I saw him."
Gavril looked toward the ring.
"And you decided to try."
Viktor nodded.
"I was scared. I remembered my father doing the same... and I tried it too. I thought maybe it would help."
Gavril's tired expression softened.
"Seems like it did, my little friend... seems like it did."
For a while, nobody said anything.
The fire crackled softly.
Veyl finally spoke, trying to move the conversation somewhere else.
"You said your father used it on Kaavi before. Do you remember anything else?"
Viktor remained quiet for a moment.
"I only saw it a few times, so I don't know much. Father didn't usually take me with him whenever Grandpa was sick."
He looked down at his hands.
"I used to sneak around sometimes and watch from far away."
Gavril raised an eyebrow.
"You sneaked around?"
Viktor gave a small, embarrassed shrug.
"I wanted to know what was happening."
He looked toward Kaavi.
"I remember Grandpa being tied to a bed. Sometimes his hands were tied too, I didn't understand why."
Veyl listened carefully.
"What happened after that?"
"My father would use the ring. He would say the words... then the light would come."
Viktor touched the ring with his thumb.
"I never understood what the light was doing. But after that, Grandpa would become quiet… sometimes he slept. When he woke up, he was calm again."
Gavril nodded slowly.
"And then you stopped seeing it?"
Viktor nodded.
"After I turned ten."
He hesitated.
"There was one time..."
His eyes remained on the fire.
"I saw Father after he came back from Grandpa's place."
"What did you see?" Veyl asked.
"Father had bandages."
Viktor lifted his hands as though trying to remember where they had been.
"Here."
He touched his forearm.
"And here."
Then his shoulder.
"There was another one around his leg."
"I asked him what happened."
Gavril's expression became more attentive.
"What did he tell you?"
Viktor looked up.
"He said Grandpa and he were testing who was stronger."
He smiled faintly at the memory.
"Father said they had a small battle and that he won, but he got some injuries. He told me not to worry."
Viktor paused.
"Then he said Grandpa had given him a big present for winning."
Gavril remained silent.
Viktor looked down.
"I asked if he was okay. He said he was."
"And after that?"
Viktor's brow furrowed.
"I don't remember much."
"Things just became quieter. Grandpa stopped using his abilities. He stayed where he was."
Gavril glanced toward Kaavi.
"And you don't know why?"
"No."
Viktor looked somewhat disappointed again.
"Father never explained it to me."
There was something strange about the way he said it.
Just the frustration of a child who had once asked a question and never received an answer.
Veyl didn't ask another. Neither did Gavril.
Veyl looked toward the fire.
"Then how did you know to use the ring tonight?"
Viktor gave the same answer he had given before.
"I don't know."
He rubbed the ring slowly.
"I just remembered the words."
Gavril looked at him for a moment. Then toward Kaavi.
"Well... whatever it was, it worked."
Viktor nodded.
His eyes remained on the old man lying beneath the blankets.
Veyl finally changed the subject.
"You said you visited him with your father?"
Viktor nodded.
"What did you do there?"
Viktor thought about it.
"We brought him things."
"Food."
"Firewood."
"Medicine."
"Sometimes clothes."
Gavril looked toward the dark forest.
"So, your father kept looking after him."
Viktor nodded.
"We all did."
He paused.
"Sometimes Grandpa didn't want to talk. So, we would just leave the things and sit for a while. Sometimes he talked."
"What about?" Veyl asked.
Viktor smiled faintly.
"Nothing important."
"He talked about random things."
"He complained about the weather. About the food."
"He complained about my father bringing too much food."
Gavril smiled.
"Sounds like him."
Viktor's smile lasted only a little while.
"But he was calmer."
"He didn't become like..."
He looked toward Kaavi.
"...like tonight."
The fire shifted.
A small log collapsed inward, sending a brief shower of sparks into the night.
Then Gavril asked,
"Your father must've been strong to handle Kaavi."
Viktor looked up.
Something changed immediately. The fear in his face disappeared. A bright smile spread across his face. It was the brightest smile Gavril had seen from him.\
"Father was very strong."
Gavril smiled too.
"How strong?"
Viktor sat straighter.
"He could cut down two trees with one strike."
Gavril raised an eyebrow.
"Two at the same time?"
"Yes."
Viktor nodded enthusiastically.
"He could swing a sword so fast you couldn't see it. He was really fast. He could carry things that even you couldn't."
Gavril snorted.
"That last part sounds suspicious."
Viktor laughed.
For a little while... He simply talked about his father. He talked proudly.
Like any child speaking about someone he admired more than anyone else in the world.
Then the smile slowly faded.
His eyes dropped.
"I miss him."
The words came quietly.
Then, after a pause...
"I miss my mother too."
Gavril said nothing.
Viktor rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand.
"I promised myself I wouldn't cry."
His voice shook.
"I said I wouldn't."
A tear slipped down his cheek anyway. He wiped it away quickly. Another followed.
Gavril looked at him for a moment. Then reached out and placed a hand on Viktor's shoulder, He didn't pull him closer. He didn't tell him to stop crying. He simply left his hand there.
Viktor lowered his head. His shoulders trembled once.
Gavril spoke quietly.
"It'll all be fine, kid. Just keep going...Keep moving forward."
Viktor nodded.
He didn't answer. After a while, his breathing steadied.
Gavril glanced toward the wagons.
"We stay here tonight. We can't move Kaavi far in his condition."
Veyl nodded.
"And you're barely standing."
Gavril frowned.
"I can stand."
"You were leaning against a wagon."
"Still standing."
Veyl ignored him.
"We'll take what we need."
"Food."
"Medicine."
"Blankets."
"Anything useful."
Veyl glanced toward the bodies.
"And nothing that identifies us with these men."
Gavril nodded.
"Exactly."
"You think they had others?"
"I don't know. And that's the problem."
Gavril looked toward the wagons.
"If these men were working with someone else, I don't want to give them a trail to follow."
Veyl understood.
"We'll leave their goods, ornaments, marked clothing... anything distinctive. Take only what keeps us alive."
Gavril looked toward the wagon where Kaavi lay unconscious.
"We leave tomorrow. We find a proper shelter and a healer."
His voice softened slightly.
"Kaavi needs more than a few hours of rest."
The three fell silent.
The night had become colder. But at least they had warmth.
That was enough for now.
Morning
The fire had gone cold before sunrise.
A pale light slowly entered the clearing, turning the snow grey before the first rays of sunlight reached the tops of the trees.
Veyl was the first to rise. He checked the surrounding forest before waking the others.
Gavril opened his eyes with a quiet groan.
His body still felt heavy, but the worst of the sedative had passed. He sat against the wagon for a moment before trying to stand.
Gavril stretched his shoulders. He muttered something under his breath and turned toward the wagons.
Viktor climbed down from where he had slept near Kaavi.
The old man was still unconscious.
Viktor looked at him for a moment before joining the others.
Together, they began sorting through the supplies.
Most of the things were useless to them.
Ornaments.
Clothing.
Marked containers.
Things that belonged to the merchants. They left them behind.
They took only what would keep them alive during the journey.
Food.
Water.
Blankets.
Medicine.
Rope.
A small amount of dry wood.
Veyl inspected the harness while Gavril gathered the heavier supplies.
Viktor carried what he could.
The wagon creaked as they loaded it.
Once they finished, Veyl checked the horse.
"Looks healthy."
Gavril climbed onto the side of the wagon and looked inside.
"This one should carry us."
Veyl nodded.
"We'll take it."
He turned toward the second wagon.
"Leave the rest."
Gavril agreed.
"No reason to advertise where we came from."
Viktor looked around one last time.
The clearing seemed completely different in daylight. The place where they had eaten.
Where the merchants had laughed.
Where Gavril had fallen.
Where the moose had died.
Now it was only snow and dead bodies.
Veyl walked toward one of the abandoned bags.
He checked it quickly.
Nothing.
Another.
Cloth.
A few empty bottles.
Another.
He opened it.
Stopped.
Viktor noticed.
"What is it?"
Veyl didn't answer immediately.
He pulled something from inside.
A small leather-bound book. Not large. Its cover was worn from use.
He opened it.
Several pages were filled with handwriting.
Numbers.
Names.
Dates.
Some entries had been crossed out. Others had been written beside amounts.
Veyl turned another page.
Then another.
His expression slowly changed.
Gavril noticed.
"What did you find?"
Veyl closed the book.
He looked toward the bodies.
Then toward the road.
"We'll read it when we're somewhere safe."
He slipped the book inside his coat.
Viktor watched him.
"What is it?"
Veyl looked at him.
"I don't know yet. Let's go."
They climbed into the wagon.
The horse began to walk.
Behind them...
The clearing disappeared beneath the trees.